Isopod Information

[GoofyGarra]

I really want to get into Isopod keeping but know near nothing about it and there are many conflicting opinions on youtube.

Does anyone here have any experience?

Im especially confused about Substrate as ive seen many things.

The species im thinking about right now is Armidillidium Maculatum (or zebra isopod). I have springtails and will add those too.

Im thinking a bin-type setup like in this video:

 

 

[Guppysnail]

I got my bioactive from The bio dude. I’m way to lazy to compile it myself. 
 

I think @Biotope Biologist makes their own. 

[Biotope Biologist]

Soil doesn’t super matter as long as it retains moisture. They do chew on rotting wood as a part of their diet so make sure to have wood chips. I also used peat moss with organic soil mixed with boiled wood chips from the woods near me.

 

If you do this method make sure to practice considerate harvesting methods. Ie take a bit from one rotting log then move to another and so on. Only taking small amounts from each.

 

They will eat plants, and are voracious so make sure your plants are well established, poisonous, or can outgrow grazing habits.

 

Thats all I got! I feed them stale bearded dragon food for calcium and random ends of vegetables from dinners and lunches.

 

I started with 24 I now have somewhere in the ballpark of 500-750. I am actively trading in the local isopod community to get a good genetic pool. As far as I’m aware they don’t seem to hybridize.

[GoofyGarra]

On 9/15/2023 at 7:25 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

They do chew on rotting wood as a part of their diet so make sure to have wood chips. I also used peat moss with organic soil mixed with boiled wood chips from the woods near me.

 

If you do this method make sure to practice considerate harvesting methods. Ie take a bit from one rotting log then move to another and so on. Only taking small amounts from each.

i have collected and sterilized some botanicals i found around my area. I have things like magnolia pods and random odd peices of wood and plan on using some wood of some sort (probably cork bark) to bride my areas, would these suffice? Any specific kinds of wood they need?

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by GoofyGarra

[GoofyGarra]

@Biotope Biologist

ive seen people use wood chips in their substrate. Im on a budget here and mulch is pretty cheap. Would that work?

[Biotope Biologist]

Look at pet stores or farm stores for pet bedding. You can find it much cheaper there. Especially for hamsters and horses, it’s low dust and untreated wood shavings as these animals have sensitive sinuses

[TOtrees]

I keep dwarf whites for my gecko and dart frog vivariums (clean-up crew, and occasional food). The container they're in is very small, it has about the same footprint as a 2.5 gallon tank, and is only around 3-4" high. Tight-fitting lid, with a 2x1" fabric mesh vent glued in. Substrate is a relatively thin layer of potting mix, with bits of charcoal and wood mixed in, and some worm castings when I have it. Large arch or cork bark for cover, with oak leaves stuffed under it. I feed them 4-5 bug bite cichlid pellets 1-2 times per week. Occasional veggies also. I water one end of the container occasionally to ensure a moisture gradient. For harvesting, I use a spoon to scoop out substrate with isopods, add that directly to vivariums, and replace the lost soil volume. 

Watching tanner's vid, i can see my substrate is way thinner than he recommends. Thinner works for me because I harvest regularly to augment/resupply my vivs, and thinner substrate means a spoonful of soil is more likely to have good numbers of pods. It's the pod equivalent of the difference between netting guppies in a 5 gal, vs a 75 gallon. The 5 gallon can hold fewer guppies, but collecting them is way easier. 

I have to admit the rubber duckies are a pretty compelling argument to get into pods as a hobby in their own right. 🙂

[GoofyGarra]

@Biotope Biologist

Im generally following this guideline from Serpa design. I can get everything for the mix besides the 2coco products, will this still work?

Edited September 22, 2023 by GoofyGarra

[TOtrees]

On 9/22/2023 at 2:25 PM, GoofyGarra said:

how does that sound?

Sounds like a bit of overkill if I'm being honest. But I'm saying that to be helpful not critical. It would work, and they'd probably love it, but if you're starting with potting mix a lot of the structure and moisture retention amendments aren't necessary. Or you need much less of them. Eg potting mix has sphagnum or coco coir in it, so you need less (though I do like Tanner's idea of loose sphagnum on the surface at the moist end of the setup). And in terms of needs vs wants, you only need one type of leaf litter and not any other botanicals. Use whatever's common. I collected a shopping bag of oak litter two falls ago, put it in the freezer for a few days, and am still using them for both aquaria and terrariums. Though, if you're going for a nice to look at display type setup, sure I can see going all out. 🙂

[GoofyGarra]

On 9/22/2023 at 5:14 PM, TOtrees said:

Sounds like a bit of overkill if I'm being honest. But I'm saying that to be helpful not critical. It would work, and they'd probably love it, but if you're starting with potting mix a lot of the structure and moisture retention amendments aren't necessary. Or you need much less of them. Eg potting mix has sphagnum or coco coir in it, so you need less (though I do like Tanner's idea of loose sphagnum on the surface at the moist end of the setup). And in terms of needs vs wants, you only need one type of leaf litter and not any other botanicals. Use whatever's common. I collected a shopping bag of oak litter two falls ago, put it in the freezer for a few days, and am still using them for both aquaria and terrariums. Though, if you're going for a nice to look at display type setup, sure I can see going all out. 🙂

thats very helpful, thank you. I have lots of leaf litter and botanicals that i collected that i plan on using and once ive boiled it all there is no point not using it. Its also a larger setups so more food maybe more babies? I was a bit tired of being on the smaller end of the aquarium scale (a 20high is my biggest) so i went big for the isopods as i didnt have the same water restrictions. My isopod container is 18x11x10.5 which is probably bigger then needed, but i want to keep Zebra Isopods which are a larger species and i want to keep a lot of them and be lazy, so the added size is a good thing. The container holds about 9gallons and following the serpa video id want to fill it about halfway (4-4.5gallons), so ill need more substrate for that.

Edited September 22, 2023 by GoofyGarra

[GoofyGarra]

It looks like Armadillidium Maculatum like to eat plant matter. Could i feed them guppy grass trimmings?

[GoofyGarra]

i have a small issue. At least in the places ive looked, Armidilidium Maculatum seems to be a bit expensive and outside my budget, i may have to try a cheaper option. Any other good beginner isopods that also look cool and are easy to care for? I need one that is like a Zebra Danio, cheap, profilic, and hardy. I will definitely make mistakes with my first try of Isopods, but thats learning.

[Biotope Biologist]

Try Porcellionides. They are typically cheaper. Not the rolly-polly variety. Otherwise if you have your heart set on armidillium there is a North American introduced that is usually cheaper. Vulgare.

 

Vulgare has a ton of morphs and can have green spots that rival the much more expensive spanish varieties 

[Odd Duck]

I don’t know how any prices compare but I know this site has lots of different types of isopods.  Even if you only scroll through pics and read up on species care it’s good information.  As far as guppy grass for isopods, I don’t expect it would be a problem, but if you can’t determine for sure, then try a very small amount at first and see what happens.

https://www.isopodshop.com/isopodsforsale

[nabokovfan87]

Here's a good channel to checkout for setups and some advice.  You'll learn a lot if you wish to as well.  He's got an aquarium channel, nature channel, farm channel.  Very passionate person and just fun to learn alongside with. 
 

 

[GoofyGarra]

On 9/23/2023 at 9:55 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

Try Porcellionides. They are typically cheaper. Not the rolly-polly variety. Otherwise if you have your heart set on armidillium there is a North American introduced that is usually cheaper. Vulgare.

 

Vulgare has a ton of morphs and can have green spots that rival the much more expensive spanish varieties 

ill look into Vulgare, they look pretty similar to care for to the zebras, and im not picky about color strains.  Porcellionides Pruinosus seems to be a popular option though, they also sound prolific so maybe they'll be cheaper? id just need to choose a color morph.

On second thought im kinda stuck on the zebras between body shape and patterns. Also on second thought they arent that expensive, i think with shipping its over my budget though, im going to see im there is anything near me that sells them. I think right now (once i get my supplies) ill set everything up, then get my springtail culture going very established, then in a month or two when my budget is better get the Zebras.

Edited September 24, 2023 by GoofyGarra